The present invention relates to the field of athletics training, and provides a rowing machine which closely simulates the feel of a scull or boat.
Rowing machines have been known for many years. Examples of such machines are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 228,845, 381,187, 641,596, 1,504,375, 2,586,024, 3,572,700, 4,047,715, 4,396,188, 4,743,011, 4,846,460, 4,880,224, 4,884,800, 4,984,986, 5,013,033, 5,092,581, 5,295,931, 5,441,469, and 5,779,600. The disclosures of the above-cited patents are incorporated by reference herein.
Rowing machines are used by the majority of rowing clubs and teams to improve fitness during inclement weather, as well as to supplement rowing training when there are a large number of athletes and insufficient coaches.
A typical rowing machine of the prior art has a sliding seat which moves along the longitudinal axis of a simulated boat. In an actual racing scull or boat, the seat is movable along a pair of tracks, so that the seat slides during each rowing stroke.
As the scull or boat moves through the water, its center of gravity translates with the athlete. The boat may weigh as little as thirty pounds, and may thus constitute only about 10-15% of the total mass of the system which includes the boat and the athlete. In relation to the motion of the center of mass of the entire system, it is more accurate to describe the boat as translating with respect to the athlete, than to characterize the athlete as moving on the slide.
Although rowing machines of the prior art have generally used a sliding seat to accommodate the rowing motion, they do not accurately reproduce the “feel” of the boat. Rowing machines typically incline the tracks, within which the seat translates, to simulate the actual feel of the boat, as the athlete progresses through a stroke.
Some of the rowing machines of the prior art do not simulate the motion of the oars about an oar lock, and therefore do not exercise the same muscles that would be used in actual rowing. In such cases, the athlete must deal with an abrupt transition between what is experienced during training and what is felt during actual rowing.
The present invention provides a rowing trainer which more closely simulates the actual experience of rowing a scull or boat. The device of the present invention also accurately simulates the movement of the oars. It also enables the athlete to monitor the progress of the rowing activity.